So I whipped us up a healthy paella recipe this weekend. Twice !
First I made one for the Batman on Saturday, and then made it again on Sunday with some friends at their house, and watched the sun set over the valley. Isn’t it incredible how every single Sunset is just so uniquely beautiful ? I am such a sucker for nature showing off..
It was a perfect calm Sunday evening until a pack of coyotes started squealing and screeching and yelping only a few feet away from us, right after that gorgeous sun set. I’m not a fan of creepy sounds myself, and not a fan of coyotes since they attacked Peluci way back when, and recently have been stocking us again. So I would be fine If I never saw one in real life again.
I’ve been getting all these flattering compliments about my food photos lately, and I want to say a big Thank You ! I am always so grateful and pleasantly surprised by such compliments, as I am still on my IPHONE 5, that has been dropped quite a few times, and all I really do is chase the light around my kitchen to get an appetizing shot. I look at Nagi on RecipeTinEats.com and Nicole from TheSpicetrain.com , two women who happen to have like the most beautiful food photos on the internet, so really thank you guys, I am so glad you enjoy my little works of art 
Back to my Spanish healthy paella recipe, not that the paella risotto I made at Easter time wasn’t the bomb. It is just that I wanted to have a healthy summer version of it, one that doesn’t require constant stirring by the stove. Tough I must say, there aren’t many more comforting dishes than the creaminess of a paella style risotto on a cooler day.
Now I always use two pans to make my healthy paella recipes. If you are on the lookout for a flavor loaded healthy paella recipe, this is it baby! Tough you can make it in one pot, I feel that every time I do that, we are missing out on flavor.
So to keep things healthy I use a chicken andouille sausage instead of pork chorizo, and load up on wild caught shellfish. Large wild shrimp and lobster tails are mandatory, If you are going to make a show stopper healthy paella recipe, I don’t wanna see any little baby shrimps in there. You want them big and succulent and fresh !
About the paella rice, traditionally the Calasparra short grain rice is used, but I chose to use some forbidden white rice that actually has some nutrients in it. It is also a light fluffy rice perfect for healthy summer meals. I then cooked it in a saffron infused broth while working on the shellfish and sausage.
The secret to this flavorful healthy paella recipe is to season your shellfish very well with plenty of garlic powder, sea salt and smoked paprika, before you cook it fast in the drippings from the chicken andouille. Magic happens in that pan I am telling you right now.
Don’t forget the lemon wedges, clearly I forgot to have them in the photo, but with any shellfish dish, a little squeeze of fresh lemon brightens up the whole meal.
Who knew a healthy paella recipe could be so easy to execute, and so loaded with flavor and good for you ?!
P.S. I had the olives on the side because the Batman is not a fan, so up to you if you want to sprinkle them over the top.
- 2 c Forbidden white rice, organic or calasparra paella rice
- 1 spanish onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- 2 links chicken andouille sausage,cut
- 1 lb large shrimp, wild
- 2 lobster tails, cut in half lengthwise
- ½ lb black mussels
- ½ lb manilla clams
- 1 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes + more to taste
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil + more as needed
- a good pinch of saffron threads
- 3 c shrimp stock or vegetable stock
- ½ c green peas, steemed
- ¼ c flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- ¾ c dry white wine
- ½ c green olives, optional
- Using the kitchen shears cut the lobster tails lengthwise. Rinse and pat dry, and transfer to a bowl together with the shrimp. Drizzle with a lug of olive oil and season generously all over with the sea salt, black pepper, garlic powder, coriander, red pepper flakes and smoked paprika. Set aside to rest at room temperature.
- Warm up the shrimp or vegetable stock and season to your taste with sea salt. Add the saffron threads, over with a lid and allow it to steep while you start the paella.
- In a large deep skillet heat up 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add the diced onion with a pinch of sea salt and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and give it a good stir making sure not to burn it.
- Stir in the rice making sure it coats nicely in the olive oil. Add half of the white wine and let it simmer until almost evaporated. Stir in the saffron stock and bring to a boil. Cover with a tight lid, turn the flame down to low and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the flame and allow the rice to sit covered for 5 minutes without peaking.
- In a different skillet heat up a lug of olive oil and sear the andouille sausage until golden. Add the lobster tails and give everything a nice toss in all the oils. After about one minute add the shrimps and stir to coat. Cook for about 3 minutes until the shrimps curl up and the lobster tail shells turn red. Transfer on top of the paella rice.
- In the same pan that the lobster and shrimp has cooked in, add the clams and mussels. Hit them with the remaining white wine and cover with a lid. Allow them to cook for a few minutes until they open and release the sea water. Transfer them on top of the paella together with the sausage, shrimp and lobster. Reserve the juices the clams have cooked in to spoon over the paella.
- Serve the paella sprinkled with the green peas, the parsley and garnished with lemon wedges
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